


Running From Dragons

by slightly_salty_ace



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arc Reactor Issues, Avengers Family, BAMF Steve Rogers, BAMF Tony Stark, Dark Fantasy, Eventual Fluff, Fantasy, Getting Together, Horror, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Natasha is sick of everyones bullshit, Protective Steve Rogers, Stony - Freeform, Suspense, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Thor just wants coffee, Tony Angst, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor, Violence, clint is a little shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-25 12:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12035673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightly_salty_ace/pseuds/slightly_salty_ace
Summary: The Avengers first mission since the Chitauri invasion goes horribly wrong, resulting in the team getting stranded in an alternate dimension. A dimension that looks a lot like their own, other than of course, the rampaging beasts, deadly acid rain and not so friendly locals.They have no way home. No way to communicate with the people back home. And no weapons to defend themselves with. No Thor's hammer. No Cap's shield. Clint's arrows ran out long ago. The Iron Man suit is down. Tony's arc reactor is beyond repair and could give out at any moment. But the team don't know about that last little detail and Tony doesn't plan on telling them. It's not really any of their business. Besides, Tony's main concern is getting everyone home safely. If it comes at the price of his own life, then so be it.





	1. Where the hell are we?

"THOR! I swear to your father if this is your fault-"

"This storm is not my doing, Eye of Hawk."

"Can't you control it, though?!"

"Nay. Like I said, it is not mine."

"Stark! Watch where you're going!"

"You want to pilot the jet through a lightning storm, be my guest, Cap!"

"STARK. Put your hands back on the wheel, right this instant!"

"Bossy, bossy. Hang onto your asses. This is going to be-"

_**CRASH** _

A blinding white light engulfed the Quinjet. And then everything went black.

* * *

Tony woke up with Thor's face inches from his own. Thor was looking at him with a look of distress, but it quickly melted into glee when his eyes met Tony's own.

"You're alive!" The god grinned, his face still uncomfortably close.

"Jesus! Personal space!" Tony shoved his teammate off him. "Where the hell...?" The Avenger looked around, not recognizing the area. They appeared to be in a forest clearing. The Quinjet lay in pieces all around them. The cockpit was nothing but a jumbled mess, half buried in the earth. A few trees had been taken out during the crash, branches and leaves now mixed with the twisted metal of the jet. Speaking of the trees, they were ungodly tall, their branches reaching so high and so intertangled with one another that they almost blocked out the sunlight. Tony stood up, slowly turning in a circle. Not a single sound made it through the thick undergrowth that surrounded the clearing. Not even so much as a bird call. For a moment, Tony thought he saw a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows. But only for a moment. "Where are we?" _And how the hell am I still alive?!_

"I am...unsure." Thor shrugged.

"Is...are the others okay?" Tony asked softly, afraid of the answer. Thor nodded and continued smiling as he moved over to where the rest of the team was gathered. Tony followed, his heart dropping into his pit when he noticed Clint's unmoving form on the ground.

"I said I'm fine!" Clint barked, pushing himself up on his elbows.

Tony sighed in relief.

"Your ankle is broken," Steve's hand ghosted over the injury, causing Clint to wince. He looked over at Tony and Thor when he heard their footsteps. "Good to see you two on your feet. Can you get the first aid kit?"

The engineer nodded and hurried back over to the wrecked jet, with Thor not far behind. Tony stumbled through the debris, searching for the small red box. "I can't find it!"

"Keep looking!" Steve called back.

Bruce went over to help Tony look. He froze in his tracks when he caught sight of Tony's arc reactor. The usually bright blue glow was dim. It flickered twice. "Is that supposed to be...doing that?" He motioned at Tony's chest, right when the reactor flickered again. They didn't know much about the reactor, other than the fact that it powered the Iron Man suit. Tony got defensive whenever anyone mentioned the arc reactor, so no one asked about it.

Tony pulled his shirt collar away from his chest and looked down at himself. The reactor had a large crack running across the center of the glass. The light flickered again before it stabilized. It was still a bit too dim for comfort, though. "Don't worry about it. Keep looking for the first aid kit." Tony went about looking for the spare reactor he had brought on the mission. Ever since the incident with Obadiah, he made sure there was always an extra one near his person. Just in case.

"Cap, we can't find the first aid kit," Bruce reported after a solid ten minutes of searching. Tony was still looking for the backpack that contained his spare reactor. Steve and Natasha were helping look for the medical supplies too, but they hadn't found anything.

"We should go look for help," Thor suggested. He held out his hand, "to me, Mjölnir!" Several seconds passed, but the hammer didn't fly into his hand. In fact, there was no sign of the Asgardian weapon. "Mjölnir!" Thor called again. Nothing.

"Has anyone seen my shield?" Cap asked suddenly.

"Nope," Tony shook his head.

"Don't see Clint's bow anywhere either...or the Iron Man suit...weird..." Natasha looked around the clearing, hands on her hips. Her Widow's Bite bracelets had mysteriously disappeared from her wrists. "Our stuff must have gotten scattered across the forest when the jet broke apart."

"Shouldn't we have gotten scattered, too, though?" Bruce frowned.

"And how the hell am I the only one injured?" Clint whined.

Tony put a hand on his chest but said nothing.

"Doesn't matter. What matters is getting you patched up," Steve knelt down next to Clint and pat his shoulder. "I vote we start searching for civilization."

"Agreed." Natasha tore up her jacket, using it along with a piece of scrap metal to make a makeshift splint for the archer. "I think I hear water." She pointed in said direction, "water sources usually equal people."

Steve nodded and motioned for her to lead the way. "C'mon, Stark, we're moving out." He called to the engineer who was still digging through the broken metal.

"You guys go ahead, I need to find my bag." Tony waved a hand.

"It's probably gone. Besides, we shouldn't split up. We don't know this area. Could be dangerous. And you don't have your armor," Steve argued.

"I am more than capable of taking care of myself. I really need my bag. Just give me five minutes." Tony started digging more frantically.

"What's in it?"

"Um...Iron Man stuff."

Steve made a noise of disbelief. "You can rebuild whatever was in it. Right now we need to go."

"Listen, Cap, it's really important that I find-"

"I'm going to stop you right there." Steve held up a hand.

Tony's head jerked in his direction. "Excuse me?!"

"You're excused," Steve put his hands on his hips. "We can worry about what we lost later. Right now, our priority is finding medical help for Clint. And like I said before, I would rather not have the team split up right now."

"But..." If he didn't find the extra reactor soon...Tony shook his head, not wanting to think about it. The light was dim, but it was still working. He had time. Not much time, but time none the less. "I kinda need-"

"What you need is to focus on someone who isn't yourself for once."

Tony's mouth snapped shut with an audible clack of his teeth. Any other time he would've reminded Cap about how he flew a nuke through a worm hole last month. Now he couldn't bring himself to form the words. They glared at each other for a minute before Steve spoke again.

"Fine. I don't feel like arguing with you, Stark. I'm going with the others to help Clint." Steve headed back over to the group. Tony watched his team vanish into the woods, then he continued his search. He wasn't able to find his bag, but he did find the remnants of an Iron Man gauntlet, its repulsor still in tact. Tony slipped it onto his hand and stuffed his pockets with more spare parts he stumbled upon. The engineer zipped his jacket up all the way, hiding the fading light in his chest. His bag was long gone. As was the spare arc reactor. Just like all their other valuable weapons. Tony scanned the clearing one last time before going off in the direction his team had wandered. 

* * *

"He seems fine to me. We should just leave him here," Natasha commented, smiling at Clint, who was riding on Thor's back. Clint was having way too much fun getting a piggy back ride from a god.

"Rude!" Clint pouted at her. He looked over his shoulder when he heard someone treading through the forest rather loudly. "Look who decided to show up." Tony was following them at a distance, stumbling over the thick undergrowth. He cursed when a branch smacked him in the face. Steve snorted in amusement.

"Shut it, Rogers," Tony jerked his head in Steve's direction.

"I take it you found your bag," Steve motioned at the gauntlet on his right arm.

"No, I didn't," Tony muttered, absentmindedly rubbing his chest. He stopped in his tracks when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Someone was watching them. Slowly, he turned to face the way they had come. A pair of eyes peered out of the shadows, staring right at Tony.

"You good?"

Tony jumped at Steve's voice. "There's someone..." The eyes vanished. "Well, there was someone. What?" Steve was standing a bit too close. And giving him a strange look.

"Nothing. C'mon, we're falling behind." His hand drifted over Tony's arm as he turned and walked away. Tony fell into step behind him.

Other than the sounds created by the group of adults walking, there still wasn't a single sound coming from the forest. Bruce jumped and grabbed onto Tony when Bruce accidentally stepped on a branch, the crack it made sounding like a gunshot.

"Careful," Tony chuckled. Bruce sent a sour look at the broken branch.

After a few more minutes of walking in silence, the team stumbled across the river Natasha had heard earlier. The water was crystal clear, with not even so much as a fish swimming through its slow current. Thor set Clint on the bank, allowing the archer to soak his swollen ankle in the cool water.

"What the fuck is that?!" Clint pointed downriver.

A large deer like creature was making its way to their side of the river. Its entire body was black as night, and it had large antlers that broke off into several points. The antlers were so big it was a wonder the buck could even support them. The animal stopped in the middle of the river, slowly turning its massive head to face them. It had no eyes. Just large, white, glowing orbs in its sockets.

"Seriously, what the fuck?!" Clint repeated.

"A...deer?" Bruce gulped, getting an uneasy feeling when he made eye contact with the buck.

The buck changed direction, now making its way right for them.

"Nobody move," Natasha breathed out. Everyone kept perfectly still as the buck approached them. The water splashed around its heavy hooves. Natasha grabbed onto Clint's arm. It was now right next to her and it was _huge_. The buck glanced at each of them as it moved around them, stepping up onto the bank. Its pupil-less eyes fell onto Tony, who was standing at the tree line. It grunted and lowered its massive head. Then, it charged. Right at Tony.

"Stark!" Steve cried out.

Tony dove out of the way just in time, the buck's antlers crashing into the tree right behind him. The entire tree shook with the sheer force of the blow. The buck reared and went for the next closest person. Steve. Steve might be a super soldier, but without his shield, he wouldn't stand a chance. "Oh no, you don't!" Tony shot a repulsor at the stampeding animal, hitting it in the shoulder. "Eyes on me, big guy!" The deer reared again, kicking its front legs. A black ink like substance was oozing from the burn on its shoulder. It charged at Tony once more, he rolled out of the way, shooting another repulsor at the buck's legs. That just made the buck angrier. Steve made a move to run at Tony, but the engineer held his arm out. "Stay back, I got this!" He shot the deer directly in the forehead. The deer collapsed in a pool of black ink.

Only a few seconds passed before the deer started moving, slowly pushing itself back to its feet. 

"Oh hell..." Tony groaned. There was a gaping hole in the animals head. But it wasn't dead. The buck snorted and charged once more. Thor threw himself against the animal, wrapping his arms around its neck and forcing it to the ground. The buck thrashed in his hold and managed to throw the god off, nearly skewering him on the antlers in the process. Thor glanced back at the sound of water splashing. Two more bucks were running at them. These ones bigger than the first. 

"RUN, RUN, RUN!!" Tony screamed. Steve pulled Clint onto his back and took off. The rest of the team didn't need to be told twice, everyone running as fast as their legs would carry them. Tony stayed back, using his repulsor to slice through several branches that hung over the river, creating a small blockade and buying them a bit of time. The moment that was done, Tony turned on heel and sprinted after his team.

The ground shook as the three deer ran after the Avengers. Bruce skidded to a halt and threw out his arms when the ground suddenly ended. The water continued down the rocky cliff side. The forest stretched on for miles in all directions, with the river snaking through the center of it. They could just barely make out a hazy range of mountains in the distance. A bright red radio tower towered above the trees several miles away. Tony looked back. The beasts were closing in. There were more of them now. At least five. Two more were running at them from either side of the river.

"Jump!" Natasha yelled, plunging into the waterfall without hesitation. Thor followed close behind. The fall wouldn't kill them, but it definitely wouldn't be pleasant either. Steve made eye contact with Clint, asking a silent question.

"Let's do this." Clint nodded once, face full of determination. He wrapped his legs and arms around the Captain's torso. Steve took a deep breath and jumped.

"Tony, we gotta go!" Bruce yelled.

"Right, right. Ladies first," he held his arm out to the waterfall. Bruce rolled his eyes. He grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him into the falling water. For a few seconds, they were free falling, and then they hit the water hard enough to knock the wind out of them. Tony barely had time to catch his breath before the current pulled him under.

Everything became of a jumble of images and sensations. The water was freezing. It gripped onto Tony's body like claws, threatening to pull him deep down into the unforgiving depths. He flailed his arms and legs, but that just made his situation worse. The river was in complete control of his body, tossing him through the currents like he was nothing more than a leaf. At one point he got a hold on a log jutting out of the river. He hauled himself up on the rough surface, gulping in air. That was short lived, as a wave crashed over him, breaking his hold on the log and sending him back underwater. Rocks and sticks pelted his unprotected body, but his body was already numb from cold and he barely felt them. Tony managed to get his head above water and suck in a deep breath of air. Another wave crashed over him, flooding his lung with water and slamming his back against the rocky riverbed. Tony flailed his arms again. His entire body ached. His lungs burned. He couldn't breathe. Panic started to set in. _No, no, stay calm, get your head up, get up!_ Tony mentally screamed at himself. The current was too strong. His face scraped against the rocks. Which way was up? He couldn't tell anymore.

Strong arms slipped around his torso and yanked him upwards. Tony couched violently when he broke the surface.

"Stop flailing! I'm trying to help you!" Steve snapped. Tony let himself go limp. Steve's powerful legs kicked under them, gently pushing the two men across the river. Tony was still coughing when Steve and another pair of hands dragged him onto the sandy bank. Someone slapped his back, causing Tony to cough up the remaining water in his lungs. He doubled over in the sand, his entire chest aching as he gulped down fresh oxygen.

"Thank you..." Tony panted.

"No problem. Figured I should return the favor for saving my life earlier." Steve shrugged. "I don't think they're going to follow us," he nodded to the waterfall. They had traveled pretty far down river, but they could still see their attackers. The bucks stood in a line at the edge of the cliff, clearing watching the Avengers, but making no move to follow.

"Leave it to Stark to fuck things up," Clint muttered. He was sitting off to the side, with Natasha checking his ankle.

"Rude," Tony was too exhausted to think of a better comeback. He and Clint weren't exactly the best of friends. They tried to get along. Hell, Tony tried to get along with all of them. But whatever he was doing clearly wasn't working.

"This isn't his fault," Steve said. Tony looked up at his teammate, a little surprised the Steve would take his side. He averted his gaze when Steve took off the top part of his uniform, wringing the excess water from the fabric.

"Those... _things_ , were after Tony." Clint pointed out. "Why?"

"Hell if I know." Tony shook himself. He peeled his jack off and tossed it aside. He looked down his shirt, checking the reactor. A second crack had formed from his little tumble in the river. Great.

"What now?" Thor asked, not taking his eyes off the deer.

"Give Tony a minute, and we'll keep moving. I saw a radio tower when we were up on that cliff. We should head towards it, but first, we might want to find shelter." Steve decided. Storm clouds were quickly rolling in.

"I don't need a minute," Tony let go of his shirt and stood up. "Let's go. I've had enough of water for today." He glared at the storm clouds.

Steve nodded, taking in the appearance of his teammate. Soaked to the bone, with black hair plastered to his forehead. Blood was oozing from a fresh cut on the bridge of his nose. The arc reactor was flicking. Steve blinked. The reactor had stopped flickering. Maybe he had just imagined it. "Is it okay for that to get wet?" He motioned at Tony's chest.

"Wouldn't be able to shower if it wasn't." Tony raised an eyebrow.

"You shower with that on?"

Tony blinked, "um...yeah? It's part of me."

Steve paled, "I thought the arc reactor wasn't...I mean, I thought..."

Tony held up a hand, "well, you thought wrong. This thing is literally in my body. Doesn't come out. End of discussion. Let's go find shelter. I'm freezing my balls off." 

* * *

The first drops of rain had just begun to fall when the team stumbled upon a small grouping of cabins. The rain left a slight burning feeling that Clint commented on, but no one had an answer for. The cabins looked positively ancient, with most of them falling apart and vines winding up the bricks. Bruce went to the nearest one and rang the doorbell.

"I don't think anyone's been home for a long time," Steve said. Bruce turned the knob, a bit surprised by just how easy the door swung open. Bruce slowly crept inside, the aged wood creaking under his shoes. The rest of the team soon followed, leaving Tony on the porch. The engineer looked around at the cabins. Wondering once again, where were they? They had been flying over Colorado when the lightning storm hit. So they had to be somewhere in the Rockies. But the ground seemed much too flat for that. He remembered seeing a mountain range when they were up on that cliff. But the trees blocked his view of it now.

Thunder cracked and the rain started to fall more heavily. A doe made her way into the open, climbing up onto the porch of the cabin opposite their own. Her fur was the standard brown. Nothing like the pitch black of the bucks they had seen earlier. The doe turned its head towards Tony. Her eyes had been replaced with glowing white orbs.

"Yeeeah. Nope." Tony stepped into the cabin, locking the door behind him.

The Avengers were wandering around the small building, snooping around the various cabinets. Natasha had found a first aid kit and was now properly tending to Clint's broken ankle.

"I don't believe you," Thor barked. Bruce was holding a can of beans out to him, he had a few more cans tucked under his arm. "That is a can-

"The food is inside the can."

"Why would-"

"Just take the beans, Thor."

Thor took the can, rolling it in his large hands, carefully inspecting it. "I do not trust this."

Tony chuckled. He moved over to the window and parted the curtains. The doe was gone.

* * *

Tony shifted, a pained whine escaping his throat. Steve looked at him worriedly. It must have been around midnight, and the Avengers were sprawled out around the living room. Steve sat by the door, keeping watch while his teammates slept. "Stark?" The man in question rolled onto his back, hands clutching the reactor hidden under his shirt. Tony muttered something in his sleep, something that sounded like "stop". Tony had made himself a blanket nest on the floor but he had been moving so much in his sleep that he now lay on the bare floor, one of the blankets tangled around his leg. Steve moved closer to him, hand hovering over his shoulder.

"No, no, no, don't..." Tony rolled back onto his side, curling up into a tight ball. "Please, stop."

Steve shook him gently, "wake up."

Tony let out a strangled sob.

Steve's heart ached at the sound. "Wake up, buddy. C'mon, it's just a bad dream. Wake up!" He shook his teammate more aggressively. Tony bolted into a sitting position, eyes wide and breathing heavily. He looked around the room frantically, not knowing where he was.

Steve put a steady hand on his shoulder. "Stark-" Tony smacked his hand away and scrambled backward, pressing himself against the wall. Steve clenched his jaw. He had never seen Tony so afraid. No, come to think of it there was one time he had seen Tony afraid. Tony had had a panic attack in his lab two weeks ago. Steve had seen the tail end of it. Tony clearly didn't want to talk about it at the time, so Steve had forgotten about it until now. "Tony?" The engineer flinched at the sound of his name. His eyes flicked in Steve's direction. Recognition sparked in them and Tony allowed himself to relax. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Tony said in a flat tone.

"Shell shock?"

"What?" Tony frowned. Even in the dim light, he could make out the worry on the other man's face. God, he hated it. He didn't need anyone's pity. Definitely not Steve's.

"You have shell shock. You've been acting differently ever since the Chitauri. You had that panic attack, and now you're having nightmares-"

Tony cut him off, "you didn't know me until Loki attacked. My panic attacks and nightmares are old news." Tony made a move to hug his knees to his chest but thought better of it. He needed to prove he was alright, to both himself and Steve.

Steve was silent for a moment. "During the war, I saw many good men experience shell shock. I know that we hardly know each other and that you don't really see me as a friend, but I'm here if you want to talk about it." 

Tony shook his head. Talk to Steve about his feelings? Like teenage girls at a sleep over? Hard pass on that one. "We call it 'PTSD' nowadays. And I do _not_ have PTSD. It was just a bad dream about Afghanistan. I'm perfectly fine."

Steve shifted around, not taking his eyes off Tony's panic stricken face. He vaguely remembered Phil telling him something about Tony being kidnapped and tortured. He had meant to look into it, but he was still struggling with computers and hadn't gotten around to it. "Tony-"

"Please just drop it. Okay?" Tony got up and went outside. He sat on the porch, looking up at the sky. The storm had passed, and the stars twinkled down at them. Steve took a seat next to him, not saying a word. He raised his head when he heard Tony mumble something about the moon. "Hm?"

"There are two moons." Steve looked up, and sure enough, there were two moons. One was slightly larger than the other and had a slight red tinge. Steve opened his mouth to say something, but his mind couldn't form any words. "Where the hell are we?" Tony whispered.

* * *

Sunlight forced Steve to open his eyes. The soldier must have fallen asleep at some point because when he opened his eyes he found himself lying on the porch, his head on Tony's stomach. The engineer was breathing deeply, signaling he was asleep. Steve brushed a finger over the arc reactor. Even with a layer of cloth over it, Steve could feel the jagged lines running across it. The lines didn't match up with the perfect triangle and circles that he knew where on the reactor. Steve sat up, trying to get a better look at it. The light was too dim, and Tony's black shirt wasn't helping. Steve backed off when Tony started to stir.

Tony groaned as he slowly sat up, running both hands over his face and through his tangled hair. "Ugh...sleeping on the floor...bad idea. Ow." He stretched, popping his back. "so...radio tower. That was the plan right?"

Steve nodded. "I'll see if the others are awake."

Pretty soon everyone was gathered on the porch and ready to travel. Clint was more than happy to be getting a piggy back ride from Thor again. They made their way across the forest in utter silence. Until Clint got bored and decided to pick a fight with Tony. Both Bruce and Natasha got involved in the argument, while Thor just laughed, commenting on how petty everyone was being. That just pissed Tony off even more. Steve didn't know why Clint was trying to pick a fight with the only one of them who had an actual weapon on his person. Thankfully, Tony made to move to use his gauntlet against the archer.

Steve's eyes wandered over to Tony. More specifically, Tony's arc reactor. It was flickering again. It was then that Steve noticed just how pale Tony was. He was about to ask the other man if he was alright when he bumped into Natasha, who had stopped in her tracks. She was pointing at something curled up on a log.

The creature was the size of a grown man, but with the body of a lizard. It held its large leathery wings half unfurled, a warning not to get close to it. It's long neck snaked around its body, moving its head to face the Avengers. Its eyes glowed red, a stark contrast to the emerald green scales that covered the rest of its body. A snake like tongue slid out of its mouth, tasting the air.

Clint was the one who decided to speak up about their visitor. "Is that a _fucking_ _dragon_?!"

"How adorable," Thor smiled. "I did not know you had such beasts on Midgard."

"We don't," Natasha muttered.

Twigs and leaves started raining down on them, right before a loud crack echoed throughout the woods. Larger branches tumbled down. A loud bird like screech pierced their ears. The dragon before them tilted back its head, letting out a softer screech.

"I think we should keep moving." Steve nudged Natasha forward. He could hear the beating of wings. Very large wings. They needed to go. Right now.

Clint looked up and screamed in horror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I've never written fantasy before. I'm more used to suspense and angst, so please let me know how I'm doing.


	2. Saving the Princess

Clint screamed in horror.

Above them, snaked through the branches, was a gigantic serpent like creature. The dragon looked to be either underfed or growing old. Its bones stuck out, stretching its worn scales. Scars covered its crocodile like head and its wings were torn in multiple places. It shifted around above them, the light dancing off its navy blue hide. Its jaw dropped open, allowing smoke to billowd out. A bright orange light formed in the back of its throat.

The Avengers bolted. Seconds later fire spewed down where they had just been standing. The dragon roared, twisting its massive body, knocking down sections of the treetops.

"Think the big one is the mom?" Clint asked, looking back at the smaller dragon still perched on the log.

"Maybe. Why don't you go ask it?" Tony huffed. He was running as fast as his legs could carry him.

The dragon was quickly closing in, and the ground was starting to slope uphill and become rockier. Natasha dove into a small gap in the rocks. She slid down a narrow tunnel, coming to a halt in a large cave. Bruce followed suit, tumbling down into the cave and bumping into the assassin. Thor had to shove Clint through first since they couldn't both fit at the same time.

"Hurry!" Steve shoved Tony into the entrance.

Powerful wings beat directly above them. Claws wrapped around Steve's torso. With a shocked cry, the Captain was yanked into the air. Tony threw out his legs and arms, keeping himself from sliding down the tunnel any further. He scrambled back out of the hill, his heart pounding in his chest.

The dragon hovered a few feet off the ground, with Steve struggling in its hold. It roared as it started to climb higher into the sky. Tony bolted up the side of the hill, kicked off a rock and flinging himself at his friend. He grabbed onto Steve's lower leg, his own legs dangling uselessly below him. The dragon faltered at the sudden extra weight but kept flying. Tony shot a repulsor at the dragon's foot. The beast screeched and struck Tony with its free claws.

"Tony!!" Steve cried, helplessly watching his friend plummet to the ground, blood streaming from a gash in his arm. Tony hit the grass with a thud. Steve worked harder to free himself. They weren't too high up, a fall like that shouldn't be enough to kill someone. But Tony wasn't moving.

The dragon screeched again and darted up into the clouds. Steve let his body go limp in defeat when he lost sight of Tony.

Back on the ground, the remaining Avengers swarmed around their fallen teammate.

"Stark! Stark! What happened?!" Natasha hovered over him. "Are you hurt?! Where's Steve?!"

Tony groaned in response.

"There! That thing's taken him!" Clint cried, pointing up at the sky. They could just barely make out the silhouette of the dragon, with a person in its claws. The dragon was already miles away, heading in the direction of the mountain range.

Tony pushed himself into a sitting position. "Gotta...hurry...ow..."

Natasha ghosted a hand over his back. "Careful, I think you broke a few ribs."

"I've dealt with worse," Tony grumbled.

"The beast has taken our Captain to that castle," Thor reported. Tony looked up to see that the dragon was gone. But there was indeed what appeared to be a castle nestled in the side of the mountains. "We need to find horses. We won't make it in time on foot. Maybe those deer could-" Thor cut himself off at the sound of footsteps behind them. Everyone turned to see a fairly short man with long hair and pointed ears.

The man stopped a few feet away, eyeing the Avengers suspiciously. The robes the man wore were brightly colored, but also worn and tattered on the ends. He opened his mouth and spoke something in a dialect none of them had ever heard.

"Um...hi?" Natasha blinked. She repeated 'hello' in a few other languages, trying to find one that the man knew. He didn't react to any of them. The man pointed to the blood on Tony's arm and said something else. "We need help," Natasha said flatly. "Our friend. He was taken by a dragon." She pointed at the sky and then to the castle. The man nodded. He took a bottle out from under his robes and approached the group. He knelt down by Clint and poured a glowing blue liquid onto the bandages covering his ankle. Clint yelped in pain but quickly relaxed when the pain suddenly stopped.

"It's...fixed?" Clint moved his foot around. "I'll be damned. Uh...thanks." The man nodded, seeming to understand.

He then healed the gash on Tony's arm. Tony pulled his shirt up just enough to allow the man to heal his ribs. The man pointed at the arc reactor and said something.

"Excuse me?" Tony wished he hadn't discarded his jacket earlier. He wanted to hide the fading light in his chest more than ever. The man held up the bottle, pointed at Tony's chest and repeated what he had said. Did he know the damaged arc reactor was barely keeping Tony alive? Tony shook his head, saying, "that won't work on this."

The man put the bottle back under his robes and motioned for the Avengers to follow him back down the mountain. A wagon being pulled by a few horses waited for them. The elf like man hopped onto the front of the wagon and held out his arm, inviting the Avengers to climb aboard. The wagon was full of soft looking hay.

"Many thanks, my friend!" Thor clapped the smaller man on the shoulder as he hopped on.

Tony sat in the back of the wagon, ignoring the straw that was poking through his clothing. He grunted when the wagon jerked forward suddenly. The group rode together in silence for a long time. The elf man apparently understood where they needed to go, because they were slowly but surely approaching the mountains. Tony looked down at his gauntlet. Without being attached to the Iron Man suit, it just simply wasn't getting enough power. The blast he had used on the dragon earlier barely left a mark. He took the extra wiring out of his pockets and got to work on connecting the gauntlet to his reactor. The moment the circuit was closed, he knew that he had just cut his life expectancy in half. The reactor glowed ever dimmer, but the repulsor was back at full power.

"Tony," Natasha was looking at him in a way that Tony couldn't quite describe. She had watched Tony hook the repulsor up to the reactor and had become concerned when she saw the state of the energy source. She moved closer to him and spoke in a voice only he could hear. "You're dying."

"No, I'm not."

"Your reactor's failing."

Tony glared at her. She was the only Avenger who knew the true purpose of the reactor, thanks to her time pretending to work for him. "If I can find the right tools I should be able to fix this," he tapped the reactor. "We'll worry about it later, though. Right now we need to rescue the princess."

"Why didn't you tell anyone? If we had known then we could have helped you. I'm sure there were tools back at the Quinjet that-"

"There weren't. Everything I needed to fix this was in my bag. Which got lost when the jet fell apart. There's nothing any of you can do. Not right now." Tony looked away.

"If this gets worse, you better tell me. Or I'll beat your ass." Natasha poked him in the middle of his chest.

"Yes, dear," Tony leaned back against the hay bales, crossing his arms over his chest.

* * *

"No, the castle!" Tony pointed in the direction they needed to go. They had taken a sudden turn away from their destination, arriving in a town filled with hundreds of elves. The small beings had circled around the wagon, all speaking at once in their strange dialect. One of the elves touched Tony's gauntlet, causing him to jump back and hold the weapon behind him. "Our friend! He's in danger! We need to get to that castle!"

The elf tilted his head, still not seeing the problem.

"Castle," Tony spoke slowly, pointing again. "Big building. Pointy towers. On the mountain?" He brought his hands together in a triangle motion.

"He can't understand you. Let it go, Tony." Natasha sighed.

"I'm not letting Cap go."

"She didn't say we would. We'll just have to find a way up there without this guy's help. He got us close enough. We can continue on foot." Clint pointed out. He gracefully jumped down from the wagon, smiling at his recently healed ankle.

"We won't make it in time. Can I?" Tony motioned to the horses and then himself. The elf seemed to understand that and unhooked one of the horses from the wagon. He handed Tony the reigns with a smile. Tony climbed onto the horse. he shifted around on the animal, getting used to the feeling of riding without a saddle. Tony had ridden a horse before. His father kept a few on the estate when he was a child. But that had been several years ago.

"The hell are you doing?" Natasha frowned.

"Saving our friend," Tony huffed. "Better get a horse or I'll leave without you guys."

"You're dying," Natasha reminded him.

"Steve could be, too, if we don't hurry."

"You're dying," She repeated. "You should stay here. Save the last of your energy for when you really need it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Clint jumped in between the two, arms held above his head. "You're dying?! What's going on?! Tony, dude, what the fuck, man?!"

"Calm down, Junior Bird Man." Tony held up his armored hand, "I'm not dying. I'm in danger of dying, yes. But I am not currently dying. There is a difference."

"The fuck does that mean?!" Clint's expression quickly shifted from confusion to rage.

"The arc reactor in his chest is the only thing keeping him alive. If the light goes out, then he'll die," Natasha explained. "It's been flickering ever since we crash landed."

Clint paled, eyes flicking to the faded blue glow in the center of Tony's shirt. "Stark...get off the horse. We need to fix that thing before...just before. Yeah."

"No. Steve needs help. Right now," Tony hissed. "I'm not going to waste time trying to fix something that can't be fixed! Every moment we waste is another moment that Steve could be bleeding out. Or worse."

The two assassins fell silent, knowing that Tony was right.

"Tony," Clint said softly. "I know we don't see eye to eye very often, but you're still my friend. I don't want you to die. I don't want Cap to die either, but you shouldn't be risking your life like this."

"We don't have a choice. We're about to fight a dragon. None of us can afford to sit this one out. I'm going ahead. Find some weapons, horses, whatever you need and follow me." Tony lightly kicked the horse, galloping out of the village without another word.

Natasha sighed and turned back to the elf that had given them a ride. He was holding out the reins of another horse to her. "Thanks. Now for some weapons..." Her eyes drifted across the village, eventually landing on what looked like a blacksmith shop.

* * *

  
Steve sat completely still, back pressed against the stone wall. Human bones lay scattered around the soldier, along with other remains. Burnt clothing. Tufts of hair. A few fingers. What looked like a jaw, part of the tongue still attached. 

The dragon had left him in the dungeon a few hours ago. At least Steve assumed it had been a few hours. It felt like he had been sitting still for a very long time. His kidnapper was still nearby, it's heavy footsteps and deep breathing echoing through the building. The echoing made it impossible to pinpoint where exactly the beast was. There was a large arched doorway at the other end of the room. The only exit. Steve could make a break for it now if he wanted, but the beast was more than likely waiting for him in the corridors beyond.

Slowly, Steve got to his feet and moved along the wall, making his way to one of the skeletons. It must have once been a knight, considering the bits of armor that still clung to the corpse. In a way, its helmet reminded Steve of Iron Man, with its thin eye slits and well-defined frown.

Iron Man.

Tony.

Steve felt bile rising in the back of his throat. The image of Tony lying motionless on the ground flashed before his eyes. He had hit the ground at an awkward angle. His arm torn to shreds by the dragon's claws. Tony wasn't moving. Probably never would again. No. Steve shook himself. They couldn't have been more than twenty feet in the air. Maybe twenty-five. A normal human could survive that. Right? Steve leaned against the wall, trying to think of something else. Anything other than Tony's still body lying in the grass...

Steve took a deep breath and willed himself to move closer to the skeleton. The corpse possessed a shield. It wasn't round like his own, but it would do the trick. Steve dusted the cobwebs from it and slipped it onto his forearm.

Captain America poked his head out the door. No sign of the dragon. He didn't make it more than a few feet before the beast made its presence known. Its large, crocodile like head slithered out from around the corner. It dropped open its jaw, threatening to burn Steve where he stood. Steve raised his shield protectively in front of him.

* * *

  
"Hang on, buddy, almost there..." Tony muttered under his breath. He had been riding for a solid hour. The land had steadily become rockier, the hills steeper. Tony came to a halt next to a small stream, allowing his horse to take a break before continuing on up the mountain. Tony knelt down by the water and splashed his face with the clear liquid. The sun was beating down on the land, threatening to burn his skin. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and looked up at the castle. It couldn't be more than a few miles away at this point.

Tony clenched his fists. If the dragon had hurt Steve...there would be hell to pay. Tony didn't dare think of the possibility that Steve could already be dead. He couldn't afford to think like that right now. The thought of Steve being dead caused a lump to form in his throat. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost Steve. Or what he would do if he lost anyone on the team. He had only known them for a month, but it felt like much longer. In a way, they had become a dysfunctional family. Speaking of, there was still no sign of the other Avengers. Tony wasn't too excited about the probability of facing the dragon alone, but neither he nor Steve had the luxury of waiting for back up.

"Alright, let's get going." Tony climbed back on. "Just hang on Steve. You better be alive when I get there. Otherwise, I'm going to bring you back to life just to kick your ass."

* * *

  
Steve grunted as he tumbled down a flight of stairs. A few minor burns littered his body, and his hair was singed. The dragon was hot on his heels. Literally. Smoke filled the castle and probably would've killed Steve by now if it wasn't for the super soldier serum keeping his lungs clean.

The building shook as the dragon forced its way down the narrow staircase. Bricks shifted, parts of the ceiling caving in around Steve. The dragon roared in frustration when it couldn't force its massive body down the staircase. There was a loud crack, and suddenly the dragon was charging down the stairs, one of the walls completely caving in. Steve scrambled to his feet, narrowly avoiding a large chunk of rock that fell from above. He darted into the next room. A dining hall. Wooden tables and benches lined the walls. He hopped over the tables, desperate to get away from the raging serpent.

With a screech, the dragon burst through the doorway, destroying most of the wall in the process. Steve reached the door on the opposite wall only to find it sealed shut. "No, no, no..." He bodily threw himself against the metal door multiple times, but it wouldn't budge.

The dragon was now right behind him. Steve pressed his back to the door and raised his shield. Black smoke billowed out of the dragon's mouth. The orange light was back. The shield wouldn't be enough to save Steve. But there was nowhere left for him to run.

"HEY!" A masculine voice shouted from somewhere behind the dragon.

**_whiiiiiirrrr_ BOOM**

A bright light hit the back of the dragon's neck, spraying blood everywhere. It roared, spinning around to face its attacker.

"Stark?!" Steve lowered his shield to see his friend standing in the broken doorway. Standing. And very much alive. Steve had never been so happy to see the other man in his life.

"The one and only," Tony answered, his blue eyes blazing with determination. "Just hang on, princess, I'm going to get you out of here."

"I would say 'my hero', but I don't want to further inflate your ego." Steve rolled his eyes.

"Don't sass the person who's saving your life," Tony aimed his repulsor at the dragon's head, his other hand on the back of the gauntlet, holding it steady. The repulsor whirred as the blue light in his palm increased in brightness. "GAAAAAHHHH!!!!" Tony screamed, firing the weapon with everything he had, temporarily blinding all three beings.

The Dragon's roar was suddenly cut short.

Slowly, the light faded. The dragon lay motionless on the ground, its head blown to bits. Steve held back the bile in his throat at the such a grotesque sight. The soldier's eyes traveled from the corpse to the person who had just saved his life. "Oh god...TONY!!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a short chapter, the next one will be a bit longer!  
> I think as of right now this will be a 10-15 chapter story. Unless I come up with other ideas. We'll see. 
> 
> The elves will become more important in later chapters but If there are any other fantasy creatures you would like the Avengers to meet on their journey, please let me know! My knowledge of fantasy is limited. I'm more of a paranormal/cryptid person. As you could probably tell with the black deer in the first chapter.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading! :D


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